The 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race is unique considering it was moved from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Bristol Motor Speedway, marking the first ever non-points Cup Series race at the world's fastest half-mile and just the second time in 36 years the All-Star Race has been held away from North Carolina.
So it's fitting that another NASCAR first, the introduction of a choose cone rule for restarts, comes at a short track.
Commonly implemented at non-NASCAR short track races around the country, the choose cone rule — NASCAR is simply calling it the "choose rule" since there won't be a literal cone on the track — is simple. Rather than just the leader, all drivers are able to choose their lanes for all restarts. As drivers approach a designated spot on the track, they will have to commit to the inside or outside lane for the restart. One they pick a lane, they have to stick with it, or they will lose their position.
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😳😀 I like it! @NASCARONFOX #chooserule pic.twitter.com/mBlDjvTSS0
— Regan Smith (@ReganSmith) July 15, 2020
But according to at least one driver, at this particular track, the choose cone rule might not be as impactful as it would be at other venues.
"I think at Bristol, I don't know that it will be a huge change," Joe Gibbs Racing's Martin Truex Jr. told Sporting News on Wednesday leading up to the race. "Once the bottom PJ1 (traction compound) comes in after the first few laps, I think the opportunities for both lanes to have a good restart are pretty good.
"I think on average the outside is definitely better. I almost guarantee we'll see the guy in third will always take the outside, which would actually be the fourth position. The third row is going to be a toss-up. But if you have two guys in front of you pick the outside, you're going to gain two rows and take the bottom."
Truex used last week's race at Kentucky as an example of a race in which a choose cone rule would have been a massive factor.
"Nobody wanted to start third," he said. "That was the ultimate way to go backwards. I think at places like that it will be interesting if we ever do it."
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For that reason, drivers for years have pushed for the implementation of a choose cone rule in NASCAR. At most tracks, it would eliminate some shenanigans on pit road where drivers try to jostle for position based on the lane in which they want to restart.
In addition to the choose cone rule, NASCAR at the 2020 All-Star Race is testing a new paint scheme concept for Cup cars. The numbers on the side panels of the cars are simply pushed back toward the rear wheels to make room for the additional ad space.
NASCAR said the one-race paint scheme experiment came at the request of race teams.